The husband of University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Chancellor Beverly Kopper has been banned from campus and stripped of an honorary, unpaid position after an investigation concluded he sexually harassed female employees, according to records obtained Friday by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The investigation was bumped up to the UW System level because of the unusual circumstances involving the chancellor's husband, Pete Hill, who had an honorary appointment as Associate of the Chancellor by virtue of his wife's position.

In that capacity, he was frequently asked to participate in fundraising and alumni and athletic functions in a largely ceremonial capacity. Some of the allegations involve behavior that allegedly occurred at the official chancellor's residence.

Hill, through his attorney, "vehemently denied" any wrongdoing, according to the records requested by the Journal Sentinel in July and released by UW System on Friday.

UW System President Ray Cross sent a letter to the chancellor June 22 after the independent investigation into allegations against her husband had concluded.

In the letter, Cross told Kopper her husband would be "restricted" from attending any events at UW-Whitewater and its satellite campus, UW-Whitewater at Rock County, and from being on either campus.

Cross also told the chancellor that he was "ending" Hill's unpaid role as Associate of the Chancellor.

"The purpose of these restrictions is to make sure that Mr. Hill does not have contact with UW-Whitewater employees," Cross wrote in the letter.

As part of his restrictions, Hill is banned from any events hosted at the official chancellor's residence, where he lives.

Chancellor's statement

Minutes after the UW System released records of the investigation to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Kopper sent an email to the campus community.

"I want to share with you a difficult situation for me personally and professionally," the statement began. "The UW System completed and has now released an
independent investigation into sexual harassment allegations made against the Associate of the Chancellor, Pete Hill, who is my husband."

Kopper said the campus typically did not discuss personnel issues publicly, but she was making an exception with the UW System's permission.

"I fully supported and cooperated with UW System's investigation," she said. "It was determined that the allegations had merit. UW System has ended my husband¹s unpaid appointment as Associate to the Chancellor and restricted him from attending UW-Whitewater events. I supported this decision and put it into effect immediately."

Both women who filed complaints last spring said they feared retaliation for coming forward. The investigator noted that two additional women — a current employee and a former employee — were approached for comment on their reputed experiences with Hill.

"Neither was willing to speak on the record for fear of retaliation and ruin to their careers," the investigative report said.

Kopper has been at UW-Whitewater since 2010. Prior to being named chancellor in July 2015, she was provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.

3 women filed complaints

A total of three women formally lodged complaints, including a student co-worker of one of the accusers. The UW System hired outside investigators to handle the investigations, according to a spokeswoman.

Hill was found not responsible in the first case involving an incident at the chancellor's residence. But there was enough concern that he was directed to take sexual harassment training.

When the second complaint was lodged this past April, and the UW System's independent investigator began interviewing possible witnesses, a third woman told the investigator that Hill had acted inappropriately toward her, too.

Allegations against Hill date back to at least 2015, the year Kopper was promoted to chancellor.

The UW System's outside investigator concluded Hill was "unlikely to change his conduct to meet the professional standards of UW-Whitewater."

"No one changes behavior that is unacknowledged, and there is no indication that Mr. Hill acknowledges his behavior," the investigator wrote in her final report. "Furthermore, there appears to be some pattern to this behavior."

The investigator added that Hill's conduct was more offensive because he holds a position of power over UW-Whitewater employees through his marriage to the chancellor.

One of Hill's accusers told the investigator that she feared if she reported Hill's sexual advances in 2015, he would lie about her work performance to the chancellor, and she would believe him.

"She was concerned because her job depends upon maintaining a 'friendly' working relationship with the chancellor and the chancellor's spouse and finally, she did not want to embarrass the chancellor," the UW System investigator's report said.

Multiple incidents of "inappropriate physical contact" were reported by accusers.

In one incident alleged earlier this year, the chancellor and her husband were seated at a table at an event, and the female employee was sitting between them.

The employee told the investigator that "not less than three times," Hill grabbed her knee under the table and tablecloth. They were talking about a work-related issue, and he suggested, "I can help you with that" while squeezing her knee.

Hill denied that he squeezed the employee's knee. He said he reached down to massage a cramp in his calf and moved her leg away with his hand to reach his own leg.

The employee told the investigator the chancellor could not have known it was happening because the chancellor was sitting on the other side of her. The employee told the investigator she left the event early because she felt uncomfortable.

She said she did not report hugging and kissing incidents that occurred in 2015 because she was afraid her job would be in jeopardy, and she needed health insurance. She said she just wanted Hill's unwelcome advances "to go away."

The other woman reported a comment Hill made during an official university function in February that made her "very uncomfortable."

"In this case, Mr. Hill put his hand on (her) lower back, pulled her closer to him and whispered a comment in her ear about her appearance," the investigative report said. "She said he used a 'low and sexual' voice."

An April 2017 complaint that an investigator said was not substantiated involved a woman who said Hill "grabbed her butt" while she was working at the chancellor's home in a professional capacity.

"He has touched and rubbed other female students' shoulders, he would get very close to them and state how pretty they are," says the investigative report, quoting a student co-worker who filed the complaint.

The student co-worker said the behavior was first reported to a supervisor, and Hill was confronted, "but she did not get much of a response from him." She was unsure if the behavior ended after he was confronted.

The co-worker said she was "sure other student workers have observed this behavior but are afraid to speak up about it."

In her statement Friday, Kopper said her top priority "has always been and will continue to be ensuring that UW-Whitewater is a welcoming campus for all and that students, faculty and staff have a positive and safe environment in which to learn, live and work."

"As you can imagine," she continued, "this is a challenging and unique set of circumstances for me as a wife, as a woman, and as your Chancellor. As your Chancellor, I have worked diligently to ensure each of you has the supportive environment you need and deserve in which to do your amazing work."

Cross also issued an immediate statement when the records were released to the Journal Sentinel.

"I am confident the chancellor will continue to make the well-being of the UW-Whitewater campus community a top priority," Cross said. "I know Chancellor Kopper shares our commitment to ensure that University of Wisconsin System campuses are welcoming and secure places to live, learn and work."